To our fellow Cornell graduate students and broader Cornell community,
Last November, the Cornell graduate students voted to certify the Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America as our representative for collective bargaining with the University, making Cornell Graduate Students United a local UE chapter.
We are a group of grad students who support the principle of collective bargaining and acknowledge the majority support for unionization, but who feel obliged to express our concerns about certifying CGSU-UE as our representative. Specifically, we want to point out the financial imprudence of this decision, our compulsory endorsement of UE’s international political agenda and CGSU’s lack of transparency, undemocratic operation and unprofessional conduct. In light of these objections, we are especially worried about CGSU’s proposal to bargain for union shop, a policy which will require all grad students, regardless of union membership status, to pay dues as a condition of earning a Cornell degree. Joining CGSU should be a choice. If CGSU demonstrates results, grad students will join without coercion. We ask grad students to reject a union shop clause in the final contract and demand transparency and accountability from CGSU.
CGSU presents UE as an umbrella organization offering support in a limited capacity, but in fact, UE has much more to gain from us than we do from them. The UE national constitution requires a minimum monthly per capita dues payment of 1.65 hours; for a 40 hour work week, the lowest possible dues payment is over one percent of our stipend. At MIT’s UE chapter, the dues rate is 1.44% (the same as Harvard and Columbia), and of the $2.2 million of anticipated annual revenue, over $1.5 million will go straight to UE national headquarters, six times more than their local expenses (view their complete proposed budget here). Assuming the same rate, CGSU will forfeit over 70% of all dues by affiliating with UE. National UE’s annual revenue for the last 20 years has hovered around $5 million. UE stands to gain over a $1.5 million raise from each grad student union like ours. CGSU argues that the union shop is essential for a strong union, but the current CGSU member dues alone would generate more revenue for bargaining than a union shop would after UE takes its cut. The graduate student unions at Columbia and Harvard have both achieved great success in bargaining without a union shop.
Additionally, CGSU members must support UE’s political activities with their money and affiliation. UE publicly holds the following political stances, which are easily found on its website. They oppose the expansion of NATO and claim that “NATO’s policy of aggressively encircling Russia helped set the stage for the current conflict in Ukraine,” without mentioning Russia’s invasion or occupation of Ukraine. They do not support nuclear power as an energy source. They endorse the BDS movement against Israel and condemn the U.S.’s military support of its allies, Israel and Japan. They consider the current Venezuelan government under Nicolas Maduro to be democratically elected and fail to denounce him as an autocrat. They want to normalize relations with Cuba and Iran and make no mention of Iran’s ongoing human rights violations and stream of executions. Grad students at Cornell have a diversity of views on these issues; however, we can agree that advocating for these positions advances none of CGSU’s goals for better working and living conditions.
Finally, we object to CGSU’s lack of transparency and misrepresentation of union operations for the following reasons. Initially during the unionization drive, grad students were encouraged to support CGSU’s affiliation with the American Federation of Teachers. The sudden and unexplained switch to UE last fall alarmed us, as AFT’s politics are drastically different from those of UE. Now, CGSU wants a union shop, which they describe as “universal membership” and classify as a “non-economic issue,” even though it requires all grad students to pay membership dues. CGSU’s FAQ correctly states that “no one can force you to go on strike,” but neglects to mention that they can legally impose disciplinary fines for non-striking members enforceable in court. CGSU’s exclusivity forces grad students to choose between supporting UE’s political agenda and forfeiting the right to vote on our contract and our union representatives. If CGSU truly represents all of us, we should all be able to participate in the democratic process without first passing a political litmus test. CGSU further chills dissenting voices by eschewing secret-ballot elections on policy matters e.g. the recent proposal ratification ballot was a non-anonymous Google form.
We seek to challenge the culture of silence and intimidation surrounding conversations critical of our union. If CGSU represents “all of us,” why must we financially endorse UE politics and subject ourselves to union discipline to participate? If national UE only supports CGSU “in a limited capacity,” why should the first one percent of our stipend go straight into their pockets? We believe the path forward is to reject the union shop, and ensure our union’s power is derived in direct proportion to the value it provides its constituents.
If you would like to make your voice heard or simply learn more, please reach out to us at [email protected]. You can also find more information and documentation at our website.
Signed,
Mark Dalthorp grad & Benjamin Gregory grad, representing Cornell United
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